Packing for doors



N0V 24, 1936. NjBRAcKET-r PACKING FOR DOORS Filed July 1o, 1954 2 sheets-sheet@ Nov. 24, 1936. N. BRACKETT PACKING FOR DOORS Filed July 1o, 1934 Patentedl Nov. 1936 PATENT OFFICE 2,062,261 PACKING Fon; noons Neweunmkett, Philadelphia, Pa., mignr to Crane Packing Company, acorporation of Illinoia Application .my 1o, masseria! Natacion s mm. (ci. 114-111) The invention relates to special means and methods of packing oscillatory or revoluble spindles to protect against leakage past the spindle.

Thegeneral object ofthe invention is to provide a bearing andpacking assembly which furnishes an effective seal against leakage of gases or liquids past the spindle of a door handle.

A further object is to insert sealing material required to prevent such leakage of gases, fumes,

smoke or water along a handle spindle by passing plastic packing into the spindle from the outside of the door and then outwardly fromfthe spindle into the space surrounding the spindle.

` Further purposes will appear in the specical5 tion and in the claims.

In many places where a spindle turns within a stuillng box and where it is necessary to stop leakage, packing is used having size and quality out of proportion to any need for bearing surfaces and intended primarily and in many cases solely for the purpose of stopping leakage past the spindle.

This' type of need linda its highest development in the passages surrounding door handle spindles within battleship compartment doors. In battleship compartment doors the door handle functions for opening, closing and locking the door and 'has suitable bearings which ,properly guide and retain the handle in its oscillation for mechanical purposes; but in addition to these metalto-metal mechanical bearings it is essential that there shall be packing to prevent ilooding by water and, particularly to prevent chemical warfare agents, including toxic gases and toxic smokes, from leaking along the path 'of the spindle.

Because this battleship compartment door closure use comprises the" use in which the conditions are most exacting and most diillcult to meet it has been selected as the most complex example.

correspondingly it has been assumed that satisfaction of the more complex and exacting needs .satisiles those which are simpler and less exacting and are more easily met.

For the reasons above and because of its excellence -in illustrating the principles involved, the invention is shown in the battleship compartment door use only,A with slight variations as to the application to the door.

5 Figure 1 isa-fragmentary side elevation of a compartment door showing a door handle by which the dor is operated,

Figure 2 is a section taken upon line 2-2 of 55 Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section corresponding generally to a fragment of-Figure 2 but showing greater detail.

Figures 4 and 5 are enlarged fragmentary sections corresponding generally to Figure 3 but show slight modihcations of the structure of Fig- 5 ure 3.

Figures 6 and 6a. are side elevations of plungers shown. l

In the drawings similar numerals indicate like parts. 10

Except insofar as my illustration diifers from prior practice in the method and structure by which plastic packing is inserted initially or supplementally within the space about the spindle I have intended to illustrate an existing type of a. 15 pressed panel door construction in use for' sealing battleship compartment openings and will describe this old construction rst.

The stationary door plate 8 is curved toward the door at 8, forming with a rib or ange I0 a 20 protecting space within which a rubber gasket II is secured. On the opposite side of the plate 8 is located a metallicwvedge I2 with which engages a pad I3 called a dog and carried by the outer door handle I4. 25

The door I5 terminates in a movable door plate I8 laterally turned to form ange I1 which engages with the resilient gasket II in the closed A position of the door to seal the entire edge of the door against this resilient gasket. 3 The movable door plate I8 and its flange mve with the door and are controlled in that movement by the door handles I4 and 'I8 on opposite sides of the door. The handles are connected rigidly by a spindle I9. The spindle at its free end 35 is of non-circular. section at 28, ordinarily squared, and is threaded at 2l beyond the squared section for a nut 22 by which handle I8 is held in place.

The inner handle I8 engages a stop 23 at one 40 end of its movement and a wedge 24 at the other end of its swing.

Flange 25 upon handle I4 and washer 28 adjacent the handle I8, limit axial movement of the spindle and of the handles and between these two ilanges and about the spindle a suitable mechanical bearing is formed. In the present acceptedpractice this bearing comprisesi an outer sleeve 21 welded to the movable door plate at 28 and inner bushings 29 and 80 of which 29 is made 50 rigid with the sleeve. l

Washers 3| and 32 afford convenient spacers to take up the distance between the ange 25 and the washer 26 and prevent axial spindle play. Bushing 30 is held against turning by pin 33. 55

As thus far described the construction is all old, and it has further been customary to provide a space 34 between the two bushings within which space packing 35 has been inserted after the spindle has been put in position and before bushing 30 is forced to place and handle I8 is applied. In order that insertion of the bushing 30 shall press the packing within space 34 tight against the spindle the inner ends 36 and 31 of the bushings have been tapered as indicated.

With the construction above there has been difficulty with failure of the packing to continue properly to seal the passage between the spindle and the bushings, thus necessitating repacking, which has required removal of the one handle and bushing from the spindle and insertion of new packing. The present invention aims to overcome this and to permit the packing as initially placed to be reinforced immediately if desired or chiey to be supplemented by additional packing which is pumped in through the spindle when the effectiveness of the existing packing has been impaired. Though the present invention provides a means for inserting all of the packing initially required, this would ordinarily not be done on account of the length of time required. For the abovereason the chief use of the present invention is expected to be found in supplementing the existing packing and in making up subsequent packing deiiciencies by pumping additional packing into the space 34.

The tapered edges 36 and 31 would be of advantage even if formed packing were not to be put in place since the absence of rectangular edges of the space 34 would facilitate complete lling of the space by packing pumped into it -in accordance with the present invention.

The packing is forced into the space 34 or into any packing space provided through a part of the length of the spindle and out to this space. This is preferably done through what might be termed the elbow 38 of the handle I4, said elbow representing approximately a bend in the integral metal bar from which the spindle and handle are formed.

In the construction shown in Figures 2 and 3, a passage 39 is drilled through the metal of the elbow in line with the axis of the spindle, starting at the outer face 40 and terminating at some point 4i within easy drilling distance from the packing space 34. To this point 4l one or more outlet passages 42 are drilled so that packing forced through the passages 39 and 42 will come out within the packing space 34.

The hole comprising passage 39 is counterbored and is threaded at 43 for a screw plunger 44 shown as kerfed at 45. The plunger carries a piston 46 which iits passage 39 as a cylinder. Plastic packing, preferably in stick or strip form is inserted within the threaded counterbore and the plunger is then screwed to place. The piston pushes the packing ahead of it and forces the packing out Within the space 34.

At the time that plastic packing is inserted the plunger is preferably driven in to force all into the space 34 which can readily be forced into it and is then withdrawn, if necessary, to insert more plastic packing within the passage 39 ready subsequently to be pumped into the passage 34 when needed; so that for further needs it is necessary merely to force the plunger in somewhat further to take care of additional packing needs within the space 34.

The forms in Figures 4 and 5 are intended to differ from that shown in Figure 3 in the particular only that the passage into or through the spindle is located at a different point, that in Figure 4 being drilled diagonally from a different part of the elbow 38 and that in Figure 5 being drilled from the threaded end of the spindle. The passages and threaded counterbores are the same as in Figure 3 and have been given the same numbers.

'Though the plunger carrying a piston is preferred, it is evident that much the same general eiect can be secured by reducing the space through operation of the threaded plunger alone without a piston, forcing the packing ahead of it but allowing the packing to crowd into the internal threads beyond the plunger. Such a construction is shown in Figure 6a where the plunger appears at 44.

It will be evident that the initial packing may be in ring form if desired and metallic die formed or it may be plastic and the bushings may be of brous composition or fabric or other suitable materials. ordinary sense of that term packing may be of resilient or granular material.

It will be evident that where the present construction is used to fill the packing space as well as to supplement this filling afterward as need occurs, keeping the packing under compression at all times, said construction may replace the conventional type of stuffing-box-follow-upglands on the packing and the normal construction of stufng boxes prepared for that purpose, thus eliminating the outside extension of such parts for access in tightening up.

It will further be evident that the present construction performs a further function of which the stumng box construction is not normally capable in that it applies fresh packing upon the inside close to the movable spindle or shaft as distinguished from merely compressing old packing which has an edge or remains against the spindle or shaft.

In view of my invention and disclosure, variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I therefore claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:-

1. In a construction of a door having a handle, a spindle integrally connected with said handle at an angle thereto and having a passage through part of the length of said spindle threaded at its outer end and terminating near said integral connection, and having a communicating passage to the exterior surface of the spindle, a bearing for the spindle within the door having a space for packing within the bearing at the point where the second passage emerges at the surface of the spindle, a threaded plug fitting the thread of the first passage and having a piston in advance of the thread of the plug extending into that part of the first passage which is not threaded, a second handle for the spindle, a fixed door plate, and cooperating devices between one of said handles and the plate, for fastening the door in closed position.

2. A bearing and packing assembly for marine compartment doors of metal plate construction, comprising a tubular bearing passing through an opening in said door and having a water-tight Instead of being plastic in the and gas-tight connection therewith, a spindle passing through said tubularbearing and providing an annular clearance between itself and said bearing, a handle projecting at an angle from one end of said spindle, a shoulder on the same end of said spindle cooperating with the adjacent end of said tubular bearing, bushings in said annular clearance spaced apart to provide a chamber for packing, a detachable handle secured to the other end of said spindle whereby packing material may be installed in said annular clearance when said handle is removed and is confined therein when said handle is in place, said spindle having a central longitudinal passageway therein extending through the same, an extension of said passageway terminating at the surface of said first mentioned handle, a transverse passageway intersecting said first passageway and means adjustably mounted in said extension to force make-up plastic packing into and through said passageway into said packing chamber thereby forming a water-tight and gastight seal around said spindle.

3. A bearing and packing assembly for marine compartment doors of metal plate construction, comprising a tubular bearing passing through an opening in said door, projecting from both sides of said door and welded thereto,a spindle passing-through said tubular bearing leaving a clearance between the two, a handle integral with one end ot said spindle and curved substantially at right angles thereto, a shoulder on said spindle near said handle cooperating with the adjacent end of said tubular bearing, spaced apart bushings in said clearance space providing a chamber for packing, a handle detachably secured to the other end of said spindle whereby packing material may be installed in said clearance space when said handle is removed and may be confined therein when said handle is in place, said spindle having a longitudinal passage therein terminating at the curved portion of said ilrst handle, a transverse passageway at the other end of said longitudinal passageway and a screw threaded plunger mounted in the latter and having a head of a size smaller than said longitudinal passage, so that it may be screwed -out of the way into said passage, and also force plastic packing into and through said passageways and into `the packing chamber thereby forming a water-tight and gas-tight seal around said spindle.

NEWELL BRACKETI. 

